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Nats prospect Voth twirls gem at Class A

2014 MLB.com Top Prospects: Austin Voth is built like an innings-eating starter that pounds the strike zone with all of his pitches

By Bill Ladson and Teddy Cahill
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MLB.com |

Right-hander Austin Voth, the Nationals' No. 16 prospect, retired the first 18 batters he faced Tuesday and combined with reliever David Ramos for a one-hit shutout in Class A Hagerstown's 2-0 victory against Lakewood.

Voth took a perfect game into the seventh inning, only to see it broken up when Phillies No. 3 prospect J.P. Crawford drew a leadoff walk. Carlos Tocci followed with a single, ending the no-hitter. But Voth recovered to retire the next three batters and preserve the shutout.

Voth exited the game after allowing just one hit and one walk in seven scoreless innings. He struck out six batters. Ramos relieved him to start the eighth and retired all six batters he faced to earn his first save.

Voth, the Nationals' fifth-round pick in the 2013 First-Year Player Draft, has dominated the South Atlantic League this season. But Tuesday still stood out as the best start of his young career, eclipsing a start last month when he allowed just one hit and one walk in six shutout innings against Hickory.

With the victory Tuesday, Voth improved to 4-3 with a 2.23 ERA. He has struck out 69 batters and walked 19 in 64 2/3 innings. He leads the SAL with a 1.02 WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched), while ranking second in ERA and third in strikeouts.